Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Ricoh GR Trio: The Tiny, Full-Frame & APS

I finally have in my possession the latest and greatest Ricoh digital camera, the Ricoh GR. Unofficially it's called the GR V or GR 5 since it's the 5th generation Ricoh GR digital camera. The big deal with the new GR is of course its APS-C size sensor crammed into its slim little Japanese camera body.

I've only had it for a day and so far so good. I've been comparing it with the Ricoh GR Digital IV, and both behave very similar. There are some differences, but mostly improvements on handling and menu layout. Oddly enough, there are some things where the older GR actually outperforms its big brother. I'll explain in detail in my full report, but let's just say it has to do with the auto focus.

For now I thought I would post some pictures showing the original 35mm GR1 with the latest two for comparison (the new GR on far right on the above picture). Although the original film camera appears to have the smallest lens diameter, the irony is that it has the largest image gathering area! Width wise, the old GR1 film camera and the new GR are the same, while the GR-D IV is quite a bit narrower (see bottom picture). The new GR is the thickest, while the GR1 and GR-D IV are about the same.

Aesthetically all three are a joy to handle and even more of a joy to shoot with. If only I bought the GR21 when I had the chance, this picture would be complete...the next time I'm in Japan, I may just splurge and buy it!! How about Japancamerahunter'ssigned GR21 by Daido Moriyama himself?